LAST Monday, analysts weren’t expecting to see many surprises in Morgan Stanley’s upcoming earnings report, still planned for this Thursday. But after last Tuesday’s terrible events, analysts say last quarter’s performance may not have much impact on the company’s future.

“I suspect that what they discuss will be of significantly less interest than business issues going forward,” said Mark Constant, senior equity research analyst for Lehman Brothers. He said that although people will be paying attention to the conference call and report, the attack on the World Trade Center has drastically changed the social and economic environment in a way that this quarterly report will not reflect.

“It is impossible to quantify or assess the impact on the stock itself,” said Constant, adding that even trying to use “traditional or historical data” is futile.

And the traditional data wasn’t so hot. “We weren’t expecting much in the way of revenue,” said Diana Yates, an analyst with A.G. Edwards. Morgan has posted losses of 38.3 percent this year. “The market was already expecting worse,” said Yates, “[the sector] hasn’t had a lot of retail or IPO activity.”

Yates points out that Morgan’s stock, which was just under $49 last Monday, was already discounted because “core revenue trends are depressed.” She had been expecting a recovery either late this year or next year – but said, “it’s hard to say if this [attack on America] is going to prolong economic recovery or help it.” Yates remains favorable on Morgan for the long term.

No one can say what the market will do Monday or in the weeks and months to come. “There are a lot of factors here,” said Constant, “a significant injection of liquidity by the Fed, an accommodating global market, and unprecedented cooperation between regulators and competitors.”

Morgan Stanley, which is headquartered at 1585 Broadway, farther uptown than competitors such as Merrill Lynch and Salomon Smith Barney, has said that it escaped the attack with relative success. Of its 2,700 employees in the World Trade Center at the time, only 15 remained unaccounted for Friday afternoon.

“Morgan Stanley is probably in a better position than others,” said Yates, “depending on how long everyone is held out of their buildings.” Merrill, Lehman and Smith Barney have temporarily relocated to New Jersey.

“The firm is in great shape,” CEO Philip Purcell said in a statement to Morgan Stanley employees on Wednesday, adding, “all of our systems are working.” He urged them to get in contact with their clients and reassure them that business would continue as usual.